The Legend and the Man Pt3 El Nino Viejo
by Siean Riley
Summary: SUMMARY: New World Zorro – The enemy of your enemy is supposed to be your friend. Just make sure he isn't your enemy's friend instead. Third in a series of tales about Zorro and Victoria.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N:_ _This is the third_ _part of my_ _story._ _Thanks again to Dizzy Fire for translating and to Arianka for checking,_

* * *

CHAPTER ONE

* * *

The road from Monterey to Los Angeles wound gently through the hills. Some stretches were exposed, others shaded by copses and thickets. The day was warm. The breeze had stilled sometime during the afternoon, but the setting sun no longer scorched the earth as much as around midday. Cicadas chirped in the shrubs and bushes lining the sides of the road.

Luis Ramone, _alcalde_ of Los Angeles, swayed in his saddle, nodding off. He had set out early in the morning, the route was rather monotonous, so it was no wonder that he was napping while his horse shuffled along at a sedate pace. Whenever he happened to be more awake, he recalled the pleasant time he'd had in Monterey. Recently he'd been rising in the governor's esteem, and each new visit was like so much balm on his heart. The capture of the band of deserters had for the time being eclipsed Ramone's spectacular failures to arrest Zorro, which was fortunate enough. In addition to that, it had been months since he'd last even mentioned the masked nuisance in his reports. The tactic seemed to work – Luis Ramone was gaining regard, and, in the future, he might start gaining wealth as well.

Half asleep and half engaged in pleasing memories and dreams of the future, Ramone paid little attention to his surroundings. He did not notice the three riders who emerged from the roadside bushes, not until one of them had already stopped his horse. The awakening came too late – by then, he had two pistols trained on him.

" _Buenas noches, alcalde_ ," he heard. Then the world exploded into sparks and pain.

X X X

The sparks and pain were still there when the world returned. It took Ramone a good long while to realise that the sparks he was seeing were really there – whole columns of them, rising up from the branches thrown on the fire. The pain, debilitating at first, gradually ebbed and settled in his head and arms, twisted behind his back. He had been tied up and left some distance away from the centre of the camp. He jerked and moaned, and heard a brief snort in response.

"Oi, Manuel, he's awake!"

"What? Ah, well then, well then..." A man bent over Ramone, so low that the captive could clearly smell the odour of sweat and rancid fat rolling off him. He lifted the _alcalde_ under the armpits and dragged him closer to the fire, then sat him more or less upright under one of the trees.

"I am..." croaked Ramone.

"Wait," the man interrupted, rather rudely. Before the _alcalde_ could protest, he was offered a cup, filled (by the smell of it) with cheap wine. He took a few sips, grimacing at the sour note of vinegar.

"Better?" the man asked.

"Better," he said. "I am..."

"You're Luis Ramone, _alcalde_ of Los Angeles," he was told. "I have a question for you. Do you know who _I_ am?"

Ramone took a long moment to study the man sitting opposite him. He felt like he'd seen that face before; cleaner, possibly, and not quite so unshaven, but definitely the same. It seemed to him that the circumstances of their previous meeting might have been unpleasant, although perhaps not quite as unpleasant as the present moment. Finally, he shook his head.

"I can't remember," he said.

"Then allow me to refresh your memory," Manuel – if that was indeed his name – smiled, but it was not a pleasant smile. Now that the first shock and anger had passed, Ramone was starting to feel afraid. "Let me remind you of the man you sentenced to a fine and a night in a cell for paying with a counterfeit coin. Remember? I stayed the night in your _cuartel_ jail, and then..."

"Then you came back, leading a band of deserters!" Ramone blurted out. "Oh yes, now I remember. I remember perfectly!"

"So you know what happened later, don't you?" The man leaned towards his prisoner. "A fight, then another one, a cart full of prisoners... You sent us off to Monterey and got a nice, tidy sum from the governor in return."

Ramone scowled. Most people were thankfully unaware how that particular episode had played out for him, but the memory still smarted. Manuel went on.

"And do you know what happened then?"

"I can imagine..."

"The army fellows checked their lists. My boys danced at the end of a rope!" Manuel slapped his knee in fury. "My lads, the toughest gang I've ever had, were sent to the gallows in the governor's prison!"

"So how did you get out?" Ramone couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Never mind..." Manuel's smile was downright frightening. "Never you mind... I'm out and I intend to have some payback for my lads. Starting with you, _alcalde_... Let's watch you dance."

Ramone cried out in panic when strong hands lifted him off the ground. He struggled to break free, still hearing Manuel's voice through the pounding of blood in his ears.

"You'll dance for us, oh yes, you will... Just so it isn't over too quickly, we're going to string you up by the feet..."

"No!" yelled the _alcalde_. "No! It wasn't my fault!"

"What?" Manuel hesitated. "Not your fault? Are you not the _alcalde_ of Los Angeles?" The irony in his voice was palpable.

"I wasn't in command! It wasn't my idea!" Ramone sensed perfectly well that he had only this one chance to save himself.

"Not yours? Whose idea was it, then?"

"It was Zorro! It was all his doing! He'd discovered you somehow and planned everything!"

"Zorro?"

"You've seen him! You must have!" Ramone begged. "A masked rider on a black horse, no one can match him with a sword or a whip..."

"I did see that one..." Manuel pondered this for a moment. "And you say it was him..."

"Him! Him! Do you think my soldiers would've been able to stand up to your boys? You've seen what a bunch of dolts they are. Zorro was the one who found you out and got the people of Los Angeles to fight back... I had nothing to do with it... If it had been for me, no one would have stopped you!"

"Let's say you're telling the truth, _alcalde_... Let's say that if you'd got your way, no one would've interfered with our business... But you still took the payment for my men's blood."

"And Zorro took it right back from me!" Ramone blurted out.

Manuel studied his captive for some time. Finally, he waved his hand. His comrades relaxed their grip and Luis Ramone slumped back to the ground.

" _Alcalde_ , you really want to make me believe it wasn't your fault – but why are you so determined to put the blame on that man, Zorro?"

"Because I'm sick of him. Because he's been a pest and a hindrance for years. Because he's humiliated me more than a dozen times. I may be the _alcalde_ , but no one in Los Angeles takes notice. They know that, whatever my orders might be, Zorro will interfere. He'll defend them, they say. They look at him in adoration whenever he appears..."

Manuel rocked back and forth, studying the _alcalde_ thoughtfully.

"I can see you're a man after my own heart..." he said eventually. "Fine. Maybe I'll choose to forget that you've had my men hanged. If you say it was that Zorro's work... How can we catch him? Since you've tried and failed?"

"I didn't always know what I know now," growled Ramone. His panic had dissipated, replaced by anger and grim satisfaction. "And my soldiers sometimes disobey my orders. They don't want to capture Zorro. I can't do it on my own..."

"So? What is it that you know now?"

"Zorro has a weak spot: his friends."

"Sounds interesting... Do you know who they are?"

"One is the son of a local _haciendero_ , I think, but the girl is more important... I expect you saw her at the tavern..."

"Yes... I did indeed..."

Manuel smiled a thoughtful smile and Luis Ramone responded in kind.

X X X

 _Señorita_ Victoria Escalante paused at the threshold of her kitchen. Since her betrothal to Don Diego de la Vega, one of her concerns had been reconciling the duties of Doña de la Vega with the managing of the inn she had inherited from her father. Luckily, Diego did not insist that she should abandon the tavern immediately. He understood perfectly well that she had her own life and her own duties, just like he did, and that her needs had to be accommodated no less than his. This did not mean, however, that she would be free to spend all of her days at the tavern once they were married. She knew it; she had no complaints. For now she contented herself with testing the skills of various potential cooks, looking for someone who could oversee her business in her place.

The latest hire, Señora Antonia, showed promise. Quite a lot of promise, actually. Victoria tried hard, but she still couldn't tell by taste which dishes had been prepared by herself and which by the señora. This meant that the quality of food at the tavern would not decline. In addition, Antonia was a dab hand at dealing with intoxicated peons or nit-picky guests. Together with Marisa and Juanita, the two serving girls she'd hired earlier, Señora Antonia had everything well in hand. A few more days and Victoria would be sure her search was over.

Meaning that another obstacle to her marriage to Diego would be overcome. This scared her just a little. From the day they – or she – had announced their engagement, she'd had time to notice that some _caballeros_ (or at least their daughters) seemed to resent her to a greater or lesser degree. So far it only showed in the way they would fall silent when she came near, or go out of their way not to meet her, but little things like that could also hurt.

Her relationship with Zorro only made things worse. Ever since she'd chosen Diego, the masked rider treated her with a kind of reserved, detached respect during his infrequent visits to Los Angeles. Of course, this meant that many a señorita hoped for a chance to heal his broken heart. Zorro, however, ignored all tender gazes, causing the rebuffed girls to look at Victoria with righteous indignation. And she could never let them know just how hurt she would be if Zorro showed any interest in one of them. Fortunately he understood, and met their romantic endeavours with indifference, though she suspected he occasionally found them quite amusing.

Deep in thought about all the complications of her wedding, Victoria did not notice the figure emerging from behind the stable door...

X X X

Don Alejandro stopped in the doorway of his study. Diego sat behind the desk, busy with a register. He crossed some things out, compared it to another list and scribbled additions. He was so engrossed with the task that he didn't even notice his father watching him. The elder de la Vega smiled a private smile. Diego had changed since his engagement to Victoria Escalante. His father suspected that the change was due in equal parts to the betrothal, the serious wound he'd sustained at the time, and the fact that both Victoria and he, Alejandro, now knew the truth about the double life Diego had been forced to lead.

That life was still a source of worry for Don Alejandro. At first, after Diego's return from his studies in Spain, he could scarcely believe his own eyes and ears. His proud, often hotheaded son had turned into an eccentric loner, only interested in his books and music. He'd seemed indifferent to the world around him, fixated on his bizarre experiments... though there had been occasions when the old Diego still shone through. Then – by accident, really – Don Alejandro had looked into the old secret passage, and all the little things had suddenly formed a bigger picture. Diego had changed because he'd been forced to change, so that no one would see how much like Zorro he really was. One of his worries gone, the elder de la Vega was nevertheless still anxious. Zorro risked it all, saved the pueblo many times, put his neck on the line for everyone else; his exploits were the talk of their evenings. Diego was the quiet one, the one who remained withdrawn and detached. Only when trying to help somebody did he sometimes drop his act. It hadn't been until the time when Zorro received a near-fatal shot, when he'd decided to confess his secret identity to Victoria and she'd publicly declared that she'd chosen the young de la Vega over Zorro, that Don Alejandro truly realised the extent of his son's transformation. Diego had begun to change. Dust covered his musical instruments and a large number of his books. If he wasn't with Victoria these days, he was pouring over the household documents. He'd gained a surprising amount of confidence, too, and started to express his opinions in public much more openly and without hesitation. To Don Alejandro, it appeared that Diego was taking on some of Zorro's characteristics. Still... Still, Diego only spoke of Zorro in third person, and that troubled his father. How deep did one need to go to create someone so different – in his habits, his way of speaking, his very voice... And how long could one hold this other man in one's mind, risking one's life and the lives of others all the time?

Don Alejandro hoped that things would work out for the best. That one day Diego might – not forget, but rather no longer need to keep up the illusion in order to protect himself from unmasking. He also hoped that his son's love for Victoria might be of help, and he'd already fielded several intrusive questions from other _caballeros_ over the issue. Obviously, in their minds Victoria could be allowed a flirtation with the outlaw Zorro, but once Diego had expressed an interest in her, the matter had become a local scandal. Diego was surely marrying beneath his station. A half-Indian tavern keeper could never be a good match for the young de la Vega; not a few men, and even more women, were keen to express their indignation over the issue.

Don Alejandro's musings were interrupted by someone behind him shyly clearing their throat. Pablo, one of their servants, was standing in the doorway of the hall, obviously unable to decide if he should address the elder or the younger de la Vega first.

"What is it, Pablo?" Don Alejandro spared him the trouble.

"Got a letter, Señor. For the young master."

"Give it here, I'll pass it on. Who brought it?"

"A stranger, Señor, not from these parts. 'e came up, left the letter and rode off."

Before Don Alejandro could give the letter to his son, still seated at the desk, a commotion began outside. Someone was shouting loudly and banging on the gate. Don Alejandro thought he recognised Sergeant Mendoza's voice.

He was right about that. It was indeed Mendoza – without his shako, sweating, his hair messy and his uniform jacket half-open. His horse was covered in sweat as well, as if it had galloped without stopping for the entire two-mile stretch between the hacienda and the pueblo.

"What is it, Sergeant?" Diego inquired politely, allowing Mendoza some time to recover. Felipe was already there, handing the soldier a cup of cold water.

"Terrible thing, Don Diego," the sergeant wheezed. He took a sip of the water and gave Diego a deeply miserable glance, looking for all the world like he'd just been told that Christmas would be cancelled. " _Dios mio_ , it's terrible…"

"What's happened?"

"They kidnapped Señorita Escalante..."

For a moment Diego looked like he couldn't believe his own ears. Then he turned pale.

"How..."

"She disappeared from the tavern and no one saw a thing, Señor. No one! One boy says he heard a scream."

"Diego…" Don Alejandro gripped his son's shoulder before he could dash off inside. "Someone gave this to Pablo a few moments ago... Maybe it'll explain something."

Diego tore the envelope open in a single movement. He read the letter, crumpled it and pressed it into his father's hand.

"Thank you, Sergeant," he said in an icy voice. "When you get back to town, please check if the _alcalde_ has returned. I must go."

"Diego? Diego!" Don Alejandro all but ran after his son to the stable.

"Read the letter." Diego snatched up his saddle and bridle. "And go to the library, Father. We'll talk in there. Felipe! Ready your horse. You're riding with me."

Don Alejandro straightened out the creased paper.

" _De la Vega!_

 _You may not recognise my handwriting. This is I, Luis Ramone,_ alcalde _of Los Angeles. Do you remember that company of deserters a few months back, when Zorro let you show off your strategies? Not all of them were hanged. One Manuel Ortega has escaped and wants to settle his scores with those he considers responsible for the deaths of his friends. You might still get out of this with your life, if you do what I tell you. Mind, it's not just your life that's at stake._

 _Ortega's men kidnapped Victoria Escalante, your fiancée. Find Zorro. I know you can. Tell him that her life, yours, and mine as well, all depend on him. He must go to the old silver mine of El Niño Viejo, to the main tunnel. There we'll see if he can do anything other than run from my soldiers._

 _You may not believe me, but I wish him luck!_

 _Luis Ramone,_ alcalde."

Don Alejandro did not need to wait very long for Diego. The young de la Vega rode into the cave almost at a gallop. Only he knew how he'd made the horse traverse the narrow, winding passage at that speed. He jumped off, tied the horse down and sprinted towards the coffer. Moments later he was pulling a black shirt over his head.

"I'll go with you," Don Alejandro said.

"No."

"You might need backup."

"I've got Felipe."

"The boy may not manage to..."

"He'll manage."

"But..."

"Father..." Diego tore himself away from an inspection of his pistols. "I know El Niño Viejo. The _alcalde_ does not, and I don't think this Ortega fellow does, either. There are other tunnels there, both horizontal and vertical. But it's not safe. I'd rather you stay out of it. If you can, make it known that Diego has gone to find Zorro. I don't know how many men Ortega has. It might be better if I am seen to obey his orders."

"What about you?"

"What about Victoria?!" Diego exploded.

Don Alejandro nearly stepped back at the sight of the torment in his son's eyes. Diego looked half-mad, deathly terrified that he might lose his bride. De la Vega fleetingly realised that his son was like him in this respect: he could only ever love one woman in his entire life. And – should Diego lose Victoria – he himself would lose a part of his son.

"Diego..." he began, then faltered, unsure what to say. Be careful? How do you know this letter is even real? Watch out, it's a trap? Diego knew all that – no, Zorro knew. There was nothing he could tell him now. In the end, though, he spoke up.

"Diego..." No reaction. "Zorro... Come back safe... together..."

"We will, Father."

Zorro turned back towards Toronado.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED…


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

* * *

The place was dark and cold. It was the spot where the narrow mine tunnel expanded into a chamber, with more tunnels branching off in different directions. There was a small fire in the centre of the chamber, made with smashed timber supports, but its weakly flickering flames gave off little heat and only enough light to illuminate the immediate surroundings. A few steps away, under the walls, there was darkness; the tunnel mouths were like black chasms in which anything could hide, anything could disappear.

The _alcalde_ sat by the fire. Every once in a while he lazily threw another piece of wood on the flames. He was obviously trying not to look at one particular tunnel, as if he expected someone to be watching him from there. When a noise came from another corridor, Ramone raised his head.

The commotion got closer, until eventually he could discern the source: two men leading a young woman, or trying to, at any rate. Even with her hands tied and a gag in her mouth, the girl was still struggling, resisting her captors. She didn't stop until they had reached the fire.

One of the shadows inside the chamber left the shelter of the wall and came closer. The firelight glimmered on his belt buckle and the buttons of his jacket, and illuminated his grim, unshaven face.

"Is that the right girl, _alcalde_?"

"You know it is," said Ramone.

"Just making sure you're not trying to play me for a fool, that's all."

Ramone got up and yanked the gag out of the girl's mouth.

" _Alcalde!_ " she gasped.

"Good evening, Señorita Escalante," he said. "Would you care to take a seat?" He pointed to a timber log which had most likely formed a part of the mine support system in the past.

"What are you doing here, _alcalde_? Who are these men? Why are we here?"

"All in good time, Señorita," the stranger cut in. "Allow me to introduce myself. Manuel Ortega – I won't say, 'At your service,' since you'll be the one doing a service for me."

"What service?"

"Don't you remember me, Señorita?"

"No!"

"I'll refresh your memory..." Manuel pulled the girl to himself and kissed her. Or tried to, at least, for only moments later he sprang back with a cry of pain. His lip was bleeding. He wiped the blood off and backhanded the señorita hard across the face. She would have fallen into the fire if one of the other men hadn't caught her. While she was still off-balance, he seized the opportunity to tear her blouse off her shoulder. She kicked him in the knee.

"You little mink..." he wheezed.

"Leave her be, Ortega!" Ramone interrupted.

"What do you want, then? Are you sorry you'll be missing out on the fun?"

"Your 'fun' may cost us!" exclaimed Ramone. "Did your man deliver the letter?"

"Juan?" Manuel turned to one of the newcomers.

"I did. A servant took it and said he'd give it to the señor. I saw the younger one ride off, too."

"So, Ramone? Happy now?"

"Happy that you haven't got anyone keeping watch? I don't think so! Zorro will be here any moment..."

"Aren't you exaggerating?"

"Your men weren't in too much of a hurry to get back here, and the young de la Vega has probably found him already. If they'd tarried a little longer, Zorro might have already rescued the girl."

"I think you're getting cold feet, Ramone..." Manuel leaned towards the _alcalde_.

"I'm not. I just know Zorro. I told you I hadn't been able to catch him, didn't I? Besides, just look at the girl!"

Ortega turned around. Señorita Escalante sat with her back to a pillar. A bruise was beginning to darken one of her cheeks, but the girl's eyes were bright with anger, not fear.

"You see?" said Ramone. "She's not afraid. She knows Zorro will come for her, and she hopes he'll make you pay for hitting her."

"I do see..." Manuel said slowly. "I do... and I'm beginning to think you've been giving me good advice. Juan, Diaz! Get yourselves to the entrance. Keep your eyes and ears peeled. They might be on us any minute! And you there..." he leaned over the girl, "don't even try any tricks, or you'll regret it. Same goes for you, _alcalde_!" And he hurried off into the darkness.

Victoria Escalante made herself more comfortable on the ground and pensively touched her bruised cheek.

"Who is he, _alcalde_?" she asked after a while.

"Do you remember that band of deserters, Señorita? He was their leader. Somehow he managed to give the hangman the slip, and now he wants revenge..."

"And you suggested Zorro as a target, didn't you?" She sniffed. "You're such a coward, _alcalde_!"

"It was either die myself, or find somebody else to die in my place!"

"So you're still deluding yourself that you can get out of this alive... Do you think he'll let you go if you play nice and help him?"

"I don't, actually. I'm counting on your cooperation, Señorita, if we're to survive this at all!"

Victoria's response was a disdainful sniff. Silence fell. After a long while, the girl picked up a bit of wood with her tied hands, and threw it on the fire. She was shivering. The mine was cold and damp, and she was dressed lightly. Deep in thought, Ramone didn't notice that she'd hidden a piece of timber with a nail in it in her hand. She held it between her knees, masked by the folds of her skirt, and slowly, patiently began to rub the rope binding her wrists against the nail. From time to time, she shot a glance at the dark tunnel entrances.

X X X

Juan and Diaz must have served in the army at some point, for they took positions by the mine entrance as if they were two soldiers on guard duty. It may have allowed them to see any movement in the funnel-shaped valley leading to the mine, but it also made them visible to anyone who happened to be nearby. Especially if he was watching them from a spot a little higher on the hillside. Two heads cautiously emerged from behind a rock; two pairs of eyes saw the men rush outside and take their places by the entrance. Moments later, a third man appeared. He scolded the others and sent one of them back inside with the horses, which had until then grazed on the grass among the remnants of a cart track.

"This must be Ortega," Zorro eventually whispered. "We've seen enough, Felipe. Come!"

They slowly withdrew behind the slope. Two horses waited for them in the valley there.

"All right, Felipe, here's our plan. You'll bring Toronado closer..." Zorro quickly explained his intentions. The boy nodded in agreement at first, but at one point he waved his arms to protest. Zorro shook his head.

"No, Felipe. I must go inside. We can't draw them out – not all of them. And Victoria is down there. No, I've got no intention of using the main entrance. El Niño Viejo used to be a large mine, with three major tunnels and several minor ones. It had ventilation shafts, too, like this one." Here Zorro drew aside the branches of a bush, uncovering a wide hole in the hillside. Its smooth sides and remains of wood around it showed it to be the work of human hands, not that of an animal. They could feel the cold, damp air current still flowing out of it. "I'll get down there and surprise them from behind. You just need to create a distraction by the entrance. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Felipe nodded his agreement in the end, but his face was still full of anxiety. He waited while Zorro secured a rope to a tree and slid into the dark, narrow opening. Then he led his horse and Zorro's black stallion down the slope.

X X X

Inside the mine, time appeared to be standing still. The only thing marking it passage was the growing pile of embers and ash in the centre of the chamber; that, and Ortega's growing impatience. The man kept leaving the room, then returning to the fire. Ramone watched him dispassionately. Victoria huddled on the ground. To an outside observer, it would have seemed that she was trying her hardest to stay bundled up and keep warm.

"Damn it," Manuel finally swore. "You seem to have overestimated this Zorro, Ramone!"

"If I were you, Ortega, I'd be checking on the guards. Just because we can't see or hear him yet, doesn't mean he's not here."

"You sure?"

"He took me by surprise far too many times. Whoever he is, he's chosen his name well. He can sneak like a true fox."

"Seems to me, Ramone," Ortega observed, "that however mad you are at him, you still envy him. Or admire him, even."

"What?!" The _alcalde_ sprang to his feet.

Further discussion was arrested by the sound of musket fire near the exit. Ortega dashed off down the tunnel, cursing and calling his men. Ramone stayed by the fire. He only moved a few steps forward, listening to the sounds coming from the dark opening of the tunnel, too absorbed to notice a quiet rustle behind him. When he looked around, it was too late. Victoria's white blouse had already disappeared in the gloom of the tunnel.

X X X

Zorro sneaked down the mine tunnels like a shadow, black on black. In here, he only had his sense of touch to guide him. The descent had proven easier than anticipated, since the old ventilation shaft had not been filled in, nor had it collapsed, like he feared it might have done. The old oaken supports, dried out by wind throughout all these years, still held strong enough for him to slide down to the bottom. Well, not quite to the very bottom, perhaps. Zorro recalled the plan of the mine which he'd once seen in the Los Angeles archive. The main tunnel cut into the slope horizontally, following the silver vein. Side tunnels connected it with two others. All of them converged on a larger chamber that sat in the centre of the mine like a hub in a wheel. More tunnels led deeper down from the chamber, with shafts rising up from their ceilings or descending into the floor. There was another level underneath, and yet another further down, that latter one largely unfinished. The glory years for El Niño Viejo were long gone. The ore had run out quickly, and when the miners had dug deeper and gone into the lower reaches, they'd found underground springs. The lowest level of the mine had been flooded, and that had finally sealed its fate. The precious mine cart tracks had been ripped out, all still working carts removed, and the main entrance blocked with timber. However, no one had bothered to seal the shafts or secure the entrance again when, after many years, the dark cave had been breached by a curious visitor. The mine was located in a distant, barren spot. Few people ventured there, which made it a perfect hideout for an outlaw who didn't need to be close to a pueblo or a hacienda. Only a lover of old scribblings like Diego de la Vega would care to dig through the archives for its map. Now Diego's knowledge would help him save Victoria. A frontal attack was doomed to fail, but the tunnel he was following should take him close to the entrance, allowing him to check how many men Ortega had, and perhaps to disarm some of them. If possible, he would make it a one on one fight. He wasn't worried about obstacles. As he recalled from his lone excursion some years ago, the major and minor tunnels were empty, only the central chamber still contained some equipment and broken timber supports. So long as he kept to the walls, he was in no danger of falling down one of the shafts leading to the lower level. The only things that worried him were the amount of time which had passed since he'd parted with Felipe, and the marks of running water he had seen in the valley below. Something must have changed within the mine with the passage of years. Perhaps by now the water had flooded it much higher, which might have weakened the walls of the tunnels.

Zorro's eyes had already adapted to the darkness, and suddenly they caught a faint glow on the tunnel wall. As far as he could tell, he was passing by a side tunnel, connecting the one he was in with the main chamber of the mine. The distant glow suggested that someone was in the chamber. After a moment's hesitation, Zorro turned and went towards the light.

He was quite close when a distant sound of gunfire disturbed the silence of the mine. He cursed inwardly. The climb down and the walk through the tunnels had taken him longer than he'd expected. Felipe was already putting together his diversion, hoping to help him capture at least some of the bandits. Except that, according to their plan, he should already have reached the entrance and hid himself in one of the chambers nearby, where he'd have had more light. Instead he wasn't even halfway there. His flash of anger at himself was over nearly as soon as it had begun, though. It didn't matter so much whether he was near the entrance or deep within the tunnels. Much more importantly, the bandits – however many there were – would need to split up. And since they had set camp in the main room, he'd have many chances to find them in the dark, silent corridors...

He moved more quickly towards the entrance. If he hadn't miscalculated, the next fifteen, twenty paces should take him to a convenient passage, where he could lie in wait for Ortega's men on their way back. In the darkness and hurry, they shouldn't even notice when their comrades started to disappear. Before he had reached the spot, though, he heard a shout behind him.

"Victoria! Victoria, come back!"

Victoria! So she was there, somewhere in the pit. He retraced his steps quickly, almost at a run, trusting that neither the yelling man in the chamber, nor those who had rushed to the entrance of the mine, would be able to see him. He stopped a step away from the room, still in darkness. From there, he got a good view of the remnants of mine carts, the barely flickering fire, and the man standing next to it. The _alcalde_! Luis Ramone stood by the fire, unbound though also unarmed, and looked around frantically. Zorro congratulated himself on his foresight in not running directly out into the open.

"Ramone, what is it?!" Another man joined the _alcalde_.

"The girl got away."

"What? You were supposed to watch her, you fool!" The newcomer punched Ramone's face, knocking him down.

Zorro only shook his head and cautiously withdrew deeper into the tunnel. Victoria was somewhere out there; ensuring Ramone's safety or catching Ortega were not important at the moment. He had to find her before she stumbled into one of those side passages that ended with a vertical drop to the lower level.

He went off into the darkness. Out here, he could only rely on his hearing and his sense of touch, but he did not despair. Victoria must be moving away from the central excavation, presumably having picked one of the tunnels furthest away from the one leading to the exit. This meant that he had to circle around half, perhaps only a third of the chamber. Besides, he was hoping she would have stopped as soon as she'd decided she was well hidden from her pursuers; she wouldn't want to move too far away for fear of getting lost in the labyrinth of the corridors. The recesses and side passages offered plenty of space to hide and wait for the pursuit to pass one by, especially since the search party would announce their coming through the light of their torches.

He found what he'd been looking for in the sixth or seventh corridor. The faint smell of rose and lavender, marred by a note of horse and human sweat, was easily perceptible in the cool, damp air. He concentrated. Behind him the argument was still going on, while before him... before him someone was breathing quickly, anxiously. There was a rustle of cloth. Someone's feet shuffled uncertainly along the adit...

X X X

Victoria tried to walk as cautiously as she could, feeling out the road ahead – a task that wasn't made any easier by the fact that her hands were still bound. She hoped that they would search for her with torches; the light on the walls would give her advance warning and allow her to escape. When she turned into the third side passage in a row, however, she was nearly sure her pursuers wouldn't be able to find her. Except that she had no idea how to reach the exit of the mine, and she needed to hurry. Ortega's men had most likely prevented Zorro from getting to the tunnels. They might have tried to capture him, lying that she was still their prisoner. The sooner she could escape, the better her chances of stopping Diego – no, Zorro – from walking into their trap.

She was patting the edge of a wall, trying to guess if the opening would lead to another tunnel, or simply a dead end, when someone touched her shoulder. She choked on a scream of pure terror, but before she could find her voice, that same man caught her and pulled her back, pressing a hand to her mouth. She tried to kick him, hit him with an elbow; the blow connected with his flesh, but it only made the attacker tighten his grip. And then she smelled him.

The aroma of tanned leather, cedar and lavender. And that strange, unique smell of chemical ingredients and burnt gunpowder. She only knew one person whose gloves smelled of those things. Victoria relaxed her body, leaning hard against the man who held her. The gloved hand slid off her mouth.

"It's me, Zorro," she heard him whisper into her ear. "Are you all right?"

She raised her bound hands, trying to touch his face. She found his shoulder, his neck, then felt the cloth of his mask under her fingertips. A gloved hand brushed her wrists.

"Keep still for a moment," he whispered. She felt him cut through the rope binding her. She smiled, but the smile became a sob all of a sudden. She grasped at Zorro, suddenly feeling very weak and frightened.

Zorro embraced Victoria. He felt her shiver with cold and relief under his hands, and regretted leaving his cloak by Toronado's saddle. The thin cloth might not have offered his beloved much warmth, but it would have shielded her at least a little from the cold. Then his fingers found the torn sleeve of her blouse, and for a moment blind rage flooded his heart – rage against Ortega, against his men and against Ramone, who was obviously in cahoots with them. But fighting could wait. For now, he had to find the shaft... No, better not. It was unlikely that Victoria could climb up through a narrow ventilation passage, even with the assistance of a rope. He had to get her out through the main entrance. Which in turn meant a fight, but he wasn't going to complain about that.

Victoria wiped off her tears with the back of her hand. Her bruised cheek throbbed hotly. _It's good that Zorro can't see it_ , she thought. She'd felt him clench his fists after he'd discovered the tear in her blouse, and she knew he was furious. She raised a hand and stroked his cheek, pulling his face towards hers. The kiss was sweet and heated at the same time. It warmed her up and gave her courage.

"I need to get you out of here. Unfortunately I left my cloak with Toronado – you could use the warmth."

A vision of herself dressed in Zorro's clothes flashed through her mind and Victoria barely managed to swallow down a giggle.

"Maybe we can use the same way you did to get in?" she asked.

"I climbed down one of the ventilation shafts deep within the mine. You won't make it. We must use the main entrance. How many men does Ortega have?"

"I saw two."

"Ortega and Ramone make four, then." She felt Zorro breathe more easily. "Felipe was supposed to distract them."

"I heard shooting."

"So did I. Let's go."

"Ramone is on our side, I think," she observed.

"Ramone is only ever on Ramone's side. Whatever he does, it's always supposed to benefit him." Zorro's grim tone left no doubt of his opinion about the _alcalde_.

They went cautiously into the darkness. Zorro led the way, feeling out the path and counting the side passages. Slowly, very slowly, the glow of the fire appeared on the walls, and the argument in the main chamber became louder.

"Find her! You must get her, if you want Zorro to even listen to what you say!" the _alcalde_ screamed.

"If she's that important, why did you let her escape, Ramone?!" Ortega shot back. "I don't need her getting under my feet to speak with him!"

"Manuel, Manuel!" One of Ortega's companions rushed into the chamber, waving something about. Zorro, watching the scene from the mouth of the tunnel, recognised that something to be his cloak.

"What happened, Diaz?"

"It was a blasted dummy. That damn horse was carrying a doll!" Diaz started to describe how they had been fooled. Zorro retreated a few paces into the tunnel.

"They discovered Felipe's deception," he whispered. "There are three of them in here at the moment, but we can't wait any longer. Take this pistol." He pressed the weapon into Victoria's hand.

"When should I start shooting?"

"When you see any of them giving me trouble. The fourth one, maybe. Or our _alcalde_."

The argument in the chamber was growing more violent. Ortega was raging at Diaz, accusing him and Juan of distracting him from watching Ramone and Victoria, Diaz was protesting his innocence, and the _alcalde_ was attempting to shout both of them down, demanding that they start searching the tunnels for Señorita Escalante immediately. They had no eyes or ears for anything else, not until a blow of the whip knocked the pistol out of Diaz's hand and got their attention.

" _Buenos dias, señores_ ," Zorro smiled grimly and saluted them with his sword. "Perhaps you could tell me what it is exactly that you wish to discuss?"

Ortega grasped his sword, Diaz grabbed a cutlass from the ground. Both of them moved forward, towards Zorro. Ramone retreated to the entrance, then hesitated and retraced his steps back to the fire. He knelt and thrust a piece of wood into the embers, turning it frantically to help it catch fire.

All the while, the fight went on in the middle of the chamber. Whoever Ortega might be, he knew how to use a sword. Zorro had to watch out for his quick, precise strikes as much as for Diaz's hectic cutlass swings. He disarmed Diaz first, then floored him with a well-aimed punch. The punch wasn't strong enough, though, or perhaps the bandit had a thick skull – in any case, he landed on his knees and shook his head, dazed. Now Zorro could focus his attention on Manuel. It was about time, for Ortega had just pulled a knife from his belt. He unsheathed the blade with a quiet _crick-crack_ , and Zorro suddenly grew more serious. A _karakka_ – the weapon of a _navajero_. Manuel Ortega was a truly dangerous enemy.

Ramone had finally managed to light his bit of wood. He jumped to his feet and ran towards the mouth of the tunnel that would take him to the exit, only to crash into Juan, coming in from the opposite direction. The bandit didn't ask any questions. As soon as he'd seen the _alcalde_ running at him, he pounced. Luck alone saved Ramone from being stabbed. They clashed, fighting over Juan's knife and over the _alcalde's_ torch.

Zorro had so far managed to avoid being hit. Suddenly, he grabbed a large piece of timber from the ground, using it both to shield himself, and to knock the knife out of Manuel's hand. He did it so quickly that the other man stumbled momentarily and stepped back, moving his injured hand out of sword's reach. Before he could rally himself and attack again, a sudden hiss and a flash of light drew his attention.

The torch that Ramone and Juan had been struggling over had fallen to the floor near the entrance of the tunnel. Sparking, smoking trails ran from it all the way to the walls of the chamber. Diaz, who had just got back to his feet, did not wait. He stumbled towards the exit, and collided with Juan and Ramone. All three tried to get to the tunnel, knocking one another over in their panic, but the fire blocked their way. They retreated, terrified.

"Ramone, you idiot!" howled Ortega.

Zorro swore. Now he knew why the _alcalde_ had kept to the vicinity of the fire. Manuel Ortega, whoever else he was, proved to be more dangerous than he could have anticipated. He'd turned all of El Niño Viejo into a giant trap. In the light of the burning gunpowder, he could see trails of it leading out into the corridors, presumably to barrels full of the stuff. When these exploded... He dashed back towards the tunnel where Victoria was waiting.

One blow of the whip, and the trail of burning powder was broken, scattered, sparks flying fire moved no further, but Zorro had no time to check if he had stopped the flames for good. Ortega was right behind him; only his reflexes saved Zorro from a stab that would have gone right through his back. Batting aside another blow, he yelled, "Vi! Run! Run back inside!"

For a moment Ortega and Zorro were locked in a struggle, lit up by the fire. Finally, Manuel pushed him aside so hard that Zorro stumbled into the mouth of a side passage. He wanted to regain his footing and face Ortega, but he suddenly found that the ground under his feet had disappeared...

X X X

Outside, a horrified Felipe heard what appeared to be thunder, and watched El Niño Viejo's main entrance and scattered ventilation shafts suddenly belch out heavy clouds of dust.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

* * *

Pain. Cold. Darkness and cold. The air – dust, unbreathable. Choking, suffocating. He tried to clear his throat, but he couldn't. And the silence, the silence which was a noise... Gradually, a memory resurfaced from the daze he was in. Fire, a gunpowder ambush, a fight, Victoria running back, deeper into the mine...

Zorro tried to move his hand. Surrounded by total darkness, he couldn't tell if he had succeeded. He couldn't feel anything underneath his fingers. The cold intensified, slowly but surely. The pain dimmed and retreated, supplanted by numbness.

When he heard a sound, at first he thought it was a figment of his imagination.

"Zorro!" someone was calling. "Zorro! Diego!"

A quiet, pleading voice.

Victoria!

He tried to shout, but he couldn't find his voice.

The weak glow above him seemed like an illusion at first, a hallucination born in his explosion-dazed head. But no – somewhere up above, there was light.

"This is no good, Señorita Escalante," he heard. He knew the voice. He didn't like the man to whom it belonged. "If he was here, he's buried under these rocks."

"No! He was in this tunnel, I saw him. He might have taken cover in one of the side passages… Zorro!"

The light grew stronger. It wasn't just a dim shine, twinkling somewhere high above him – it was proper torchlight.

"He's there!" Victoria cried out. "You see! He's down there! Zorro!"

"Let me drop a bit of that wood, we'll be able to see more..."

He wanted to move, but could not do it. A burning stick landed somewhere over his head. Now that there was more light, he could see the wooden beam that was crushing his chest. He also discovered where the ever-present chill was coming from – the lower-level corridor where he had landed was quickly filling up with water.

"Zorro!" Victoria called again. This time he managed to move his hand. "He's alive!" she shouted. "Zorro! Diego!"

"Not for long," the _alcalde_ observed coolly. "The lower corridors are filling with water; I suppose the explosion must have opened up something in there. If de la Vega was anywhere near, he's probably buried under the rubble and he's already dead. He's drowned."

"No! We must get down there."

"Not on your life! It's all hanging by a thread, Señorita!"

"But Zorro... Diego..."

"Zorro, can you hear me?" From the sound of his voice, the _alcalde_ must have leaned over the shaft. "Give us a sign if you can!"

Zorro tried to push the beam aside, but after a moment he let his hands drop. Dizzy and bruised as he was, he had no hope of moving it. He only managed to turn his head so that he could see the broken planking hanging over the shaft, and, a few feet above him, two faces. Victoria and the _alcalde_.

"We must get down there!" Victoria leaned over the shaft, looking for a foothold. She cried out when Ramone gripped her arm.

"You're insane! This whole thing will collapse at any moment!"

"The water's rising! He'll die if we don't move this beam!"

"We won't be able to get to him."

"But–"

Now it was the _alcalde's_ turn to lean down.

"I never thought I'd be able to do this, Zorro," he said with satisfaction. "I certainly never thought I'd be doing you a favour. Still, I suppose you must prefer this to drowning. You'll have a beautiful funeral, I promise."

Zorro looked at Luis Ramone's outstretched hand, and saw a loaded gun.

"No!" Victoria yelled. "No! Diego!"

When the _alcalde_ had bent over the shaft, pistol in hand, at first Victoria didn't understand what he meant – what he was going to do. The next moment she was flying at him, trying to knock the gun out of his hand, but Ramone shoved her aside so hard that she crashed into a wall and fell down.

A shot rang out.

"No! Zorro! Diego!"

The wood chip Ramone had thrown into the shaft was still burning. Illuminated by its light, she could see the darkly sparkling surface of water, the overturned timber supports, and the limp body dressed in black. She bent forward, anxious to see more, but Ramone grabbed her belt and jerked upwards, forcing her to her feet. She struggled, trying to kick him, to scratch or punch, but he pinioned her hands and dragged her back into the tunnel.

"We're leaving!"

"No!"

"I'm telling you, we're leaving. They're already dead! You won't help them by dying as well!"

She bit his hand. In response, he slapped her so hard that her ears started ringing. Then he grabbed her arm and twisted, making her fall to her knees.

"Señorita, I've told you, we're going. We need to get out of here." But something of her despair must have reached him, for he added much more gently, "We can't be sure that Diego was anywhere near the blast. I didn't see him down there. He may be deeper within the mines, but it would be madness to search for him now. I'll send out some soldiers once we reach the pueblo; they'll get Zorro's body out, and look for your fiancé. Get up!"

He pulled Victoria to her feet and led her towards the entrance of the central excavation pit. The large chamber was in shambles. The explosions had torn down the timber supports; the darkness by the walls was no more, driven out by dozens of flames smouldering and flickering on the broken beams. In some places, the individual flames merged together to form small fires. Elsewhere, the rock itself was cracked, raining down shards and debris. Most of the tunnels had collapsed.

Ramone approached one of them. There, underneath the rubble, he could still see what had to be a human corpse. Either Juan or Diaz had not been quick enough to escape the explosion. Further in, the corridor was almost blocked by timber and fallen rocks, but it was still possible to make out a narrow passage, just large enough for a man to squeeze through.

The _alcalde_ let go of Victoria's arm. She sank to her knees.

"I don't think there's any other way out," he said thoughtfully. "We must go, before this mess catches fire in earnest. Do you hear me, Señorita?"

There was no reaction.

"I told you we must go!" He shook her shoulder. She suddenly wriggled out of his grasp and crawled back into the chamber on all fours, shaking her head no.

Ramone hesitated, too. Perhaps he ought to force her to climb through the rubble, but he wasn't particularly eager to wrestle with the girl, almost certainly driven mad by the explosion. He didn't want to take any more risks. Already he would have cause to thank God once he got out alive. Better than alive, actually: he had managed to rid himself of Ortega (presumably buried under a pile of debris somewhere), and of Zorro as well. He smiled with satisfaction. Actually, there was no point in risking his life for Victoria. If she was so determined to stay behind... Once the fire had swept through the mines, no one would ever know what exactly had happened.

Victoria moved back another step, and then her hand brushed against something lying among the stones. Her fingers clenched on the thing before she even recognised it for what it was. A pistol. It must have belonged to Juan or Diaz, maybe even to Ortega himself. A weapon. Her own gun, given to her by Zorro, must be lying somewhere in the darkness of the tunnels, where she had dropped it when the explosion had knocked her down, but now he had a weapon. She rose.

"Stop, _alcalde_." She raised the pistol.

"What?" The shock on Ramone's face nearly pleased her. Only nearly, because she felt empty, as if all feelings had leaked out of her. The sole thing she could remember was the smile on Ramone's face, as he had aimed his gun at the trapped Zorro and pulled the trigger.

"I once told Zorro I would kill you if you hurt him," she stated calmly. Some part of her casually noted that she was still calling her beloved Zorro, not Diego.

"You... you..." stammered Ramone.

"I told him..."

She took careful aim. He was only a few steps away, she couldn't miss.

"Don't do this," he begged, moving back towards the rubble. "Please, don't..."

She gritted her teeth. Diego had once taught her some things about shooting, so she knew that the recoil could wrench her arms. As she was pulling the trigger, though, a hand came down upon the barrel, knocking it downwards. The bullet ricocheted off the stones, and a harsh blow threw Victoria against the tunnel wall.

Manuel Ortega looked like he had passed through seven circles of Hell. His clothes hung off him in shreds, burnt and bloodied in the explosion. Under these rags, his body was also covered in soot and trickles of blood from places where it had met a wall, presumably at a high velocity. One of his shoulders looked burnt, and a large burn covered half of his face, too. He must have been much closer to the blast than they; he had survived, but it was clear that he would need medical attention. Even if he lived, he would carry the scars till the end of his days. However, right then and there, he was driven by nothing but rage. And he still had his knife.

"Ramone!" he roared. "Ramone! I'll tear your guts out, Ramone!"

The _alcalde_ retreated further at the sight. He snatched a large piece of wood to shield himself, but then he tripped and fell down onto the stones with a rather unmanly cry of fear. This caused him to drop the stick and crawl backwards on all fours, desperate to escape the bandit. Finally, when Ortega was no further than two or three paces away, Ramone turned his back on him and frantically scrambled the gap between the fallen timber beams. He struggled for a moment, to the accompaniment of the sounds of ripping cloth and falling stones, and then he was through. He made his way to the other side and disappeared into the tunnel. Ortega screamed with fury and followed after, also grappling with the timber supports blocking the way. Through Manuel's wheezing and her own quick puffs of breath, Victoria could still hear the _alcalde_ run towards the entrance, moaning and sobbing with fear. Another moment, and Ramone screamed, but his shriek and Ortega's roar were both drowned out by the sudden rumble of crashing rocks. The ceiling of the tunnel, already weakened by the blast, had collapsed entirely, cutting the girl off from both men.

Even so, Victoria moved back towards the centre of the excavation. She wasn't sure if Ortega and Ramone had survived, but if the answer was yes, one of them might decide to return to the main chamber if he found no other way out. She would rather be ready for such a possibility. Juan's (or Diaz's) pistol was now empty, and she couldn't bring herself to search the half-buried bodies for more gunpowder or bullets. Still, her own gun was in a tunnel behind her, and that one, as she knew, was loaded. Apart from that, she needed to get back to the shaft, back to Zorro, even though at present she had no idea how on earth she would manage to get his body out.

The light inside the chamber was getting brighter. She noticed that some supports were now burning more strongly than before. She had an inkling that the fire should worry her, but she was so tired, so very tired... By the time she had reached the right corridor, she was leaning against the wall, nearly sobbing with despair and weariness.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

* * *

The _alcalde_ had missed. At so short a distance, aiming at an unmoving target – he had missed. Why? Zorro didn't concern himself with the question. He heard the bullet strike the beam near his head, still too dazed to wonder about the manner of his salvation. He heard Victoria scream, but – half deliberately and half by instinct – he remained motionless until he heard the girl and Ramone move away from the shaft.

Now he could act. He'd already got both his hands free; now he tried to lift the beam that had pinned him. He pushed up, but in vain; it did not budge. He tried to move it sideways and then downwards. That too proved fruitless. The massive sequoia log had him trapped.

Meanwhile, the chill of the water crept closer as its level rose. The floor of the tunnel had a slight upwards slant to it, so Zorro felt himself disappear under the surface bit by bit. And the process was getting faster. Whatever crack the blast had opened, it caused the second level of the mine to rapidly fill up with water. The cold liquid had already covered his shoulders. Once again he attempted to push off the beam and once again his efforts met with no success. He tried to lift himself up as high as he could, already knowing that he had mere moments before he slipped under the surface.

When the water covered his face and he could no longer draw breath, he thought that he shouldn't have been so glad that Ramone had missed.

He shoved at the beam one last time.

This time it shifted, then moved gradually. Only a little, but it was enough. Zorro sprang higher, hungrily gasping for breath. One of his legs was still pinned, but now he saw a chance of escaping the trap. _Good old Archimedes_ , he laughed to himself. He could almost see the spidery Greek letters and drawings in the volumes Diego de la Vega had perused; now Diego's knowledge was going to be his salvation. The wood was dry, and thus relatively lightweight. Once the beam had got in the water, it was easy enough to move it.

After that, his escape was child's play. The smashed timber supports did not prevent him from climbing – if anything, they made it easier. Even so, when he reached the top, he was breathing heavily and had to sit at the edge of the hole until the multicoloured spots no longer whirled in front of his eyes, and his hands and knees no longer shook with exhaustion. He was aware that this time he had been very close to losing – distressingly close – and that the next day would surely be full of pain. But there would be a next day, and that alone was enough for him to feel a surge of new strength. He got up, even though he had to lean against the wall. And, once he had dragged himself to the mouth of the tunnel, he stumbled straight into Victoria's arms.

X X X

They sat under the wall together. Victoria was crying and laughing through her tears; Zorro's head was still spinning.

"Are you all right?" he asked, once she had calmed down a bit.

"Fine. A little bruised." Victoria pulled up her torn sleeve. "I'll probably be purple all over tomorrow."

"You and me both," Zorro smiled. "But that sleeve... Your face..." His smile suddenly vanished.

"That doesn't matter any more," she said. "It seems they're both dead."

"Both of them?"

"I saw one under the rocks. The other must be somewhere in there, too."

Zorro's attention was drawn to something else. The tunnel was getting brighter.

"Where's Ramone?" he asked.

"Ran away. Ortega turned up, wanted to kill him. They managed to squeeze through to the exit tunnel, but they must have been buried there when everything came down, I think."

"We won't be rid of them so easily," Zorro scowled. "Come, there's something I need to check."

He rose unsteadily. Victoria propped him up, and together they made their way towards the central excavation. At the entrance of the tunnel, a sudden flash caught Zorro's attention. He bent down and retrieved his Toledo sword from the rubble.

"I must have dropped it," he smiled lightly, as if to reassure Victoria.

In the chamber, the piles of broken timber had turned into bonfires, still small but growing every moment. The fire surrounded the entrances of four tunnels; two more, as they could see even from a distance, were filled up to the ceiling with debris. They could already feel that the room was getting warmer.

"It's as I feared," muttered Zorro. He walked to the middle of the chamber, where the remains of Ortega's camp fire still smouldered. After a quick search, he came up with a travel bag and a partly emptied wineskin. He opened the latter and gave it a sniff.

"Unfortunately, it smells bad," he said. He took a sip and grimaced. "It is bad. But have some of it, please." He passed the wineskin to Victoria and opened the travel bag, upending its contents onto the floor. He picked up a shirt.

"Looks like the _alcalde's_ things," Victoria observed.

"Indeed. Put this on, perhaps." He gave her the shirt. "You'll be a little warmer."

"It's warm enough in here."

"I know... It will get much warmer soon enough."

"Do you think..."

"I don't think, I know." Zorro pulled off his mask with a sigh. He turned it in his hands and looked down at the scattered clothes.

"Diego?" Victoria asked. "What's going on?"

"No, there's no point in me trying to squeeze into those. It won't work anyway. Better that I should remain Zorro." Diego shook his head and tied on his mask again. He cast another look around the excavation chamber, trying to picture the network of tunnels and side passages between them.

"What won't work?" Victoria asked anxiously. The wine, though sour, had refreshed her a little. Although she was now calmer, happy that Zorro was alive, her certainty that they would find their way out of their predicament was beginning to crumble. When Zorro pulled her into an embrace, the certainty turned into misgiving.

"This is bad, Vi," he said. She looked at him, terrified, so he explained, "The exit tunnels have collapsed, and the fire will soon spread throughout the chamber. We'll need to try and get out through the ventilation shaft."

"Is there no other way? Can't we hide?" she asked as they walked towards the corridor.

"Unfortunately not. When I was making my way down here, the wind was from the south. This means it's going to blow the air in through the main entrance, and spread all this fire further in, burning the timber in more and more tunnels. The debris prevents us from getting out, but air will still get through. We're sitting in a giant furnace, Vi, and it will only get hotter. We must hurry, because quite soon the shafts will become chimneys."

Victoria pressed her lips together and picked up the pace.

When they reached the ventilation shaft, a breeze was already blowing down the tunnel. Like Zorro had predicted, air was coming in from the direction of the main chamber, and it was getting warmer by the moment. The wind carried the smell of smoke, too – still faint, but growing stronger.

Victoria looked at the hole in the ceiling with disbelief. A rope came down from the opening, swaying invitingly by the wall.

"Through there?"

"Yes. I know it will be hard, but we don't have any alternative at this point. The wall is uneven, full of holes and jutting stones. You must hold on with your hands and feet. It's just like climbing a ladder. If you get tired, stop, lean your back against the wall on one side, and your feet on the other."

"And you?"

"I'll be right behind you. I'll catch you if you start to fall, or if anything else goes wrong."

Victoria studied the dark hole for a while.

"There's no other way?" she finally asked.

"No. We don't have much time left. If you stay here and wait for me to climb there and pull you up, you'll suffocate in the smoke. And I..." Zorro shook his head, as if ashamed to admit it. "I might not be able to pull you up, anyway. We must make the attempt together."

"Did you say attempt?"

"Yes."

"Zorro... Diego..." Victoria searched for the right words to express her feelings. Eventually she said, "Take off your mask."

He obeyed.

She kissed him, hard and desperate, and he kissed her back. They needed no more words. Perhaps they wouldn't manage to escape in time, and the smoke and heat would reach the shaft with them still inside. Perhaps one of them would exhaust their strength and sink down to the bottom of the furnace that the mine had turned into. Or perhaps the blast of the explosion had weakened the old timber, and the supports would collapse under their weight. Or... So many things could go wrong, but they still had to try.

Diego paused only to pull the mask back over his face, and then they began their laborious climb towards the top of the shaft.

X X X

Don Alejandro tugged on another stone. His fingers were slipping, so he changed his grip and tried to roll it towards himself, rather than pull it out. For a moment, the rock remained firmly stuck in place, but then it moved – slowly, slowly – and finally rolled down the slope. The _caballero_ jumped out of its way. Immediately afterwards, two soldiers moved in to assist him, and started rolling the stone towards the exit. De la Vega didn't watch them do it. The dislodging of the stone had uncovered a large beam, which needed to be removed in turn.

"On a count of three," said Sergeant Mendoza. They pulled together.

The beam was only part of the way out when smaller rocks showered down from behind it, raising clouds of dust around them. Fortunately, thought Don Alejandro, the wind would blow these clouds back into the mine. They wouldn't stop them from knowing what was going on.

Although perhaps he'd have preferred not to know. He still hadn't managed to shake off the horror that had come over him, when on approaching the valley of El Niño Viejo with Sergeant Mendoza and a patrol of soldiers, he'd heard the rumble of an explosion and seen clouds of dust billowing out of every orifice in the mountain. Felipe had been there already, frozen in place before the main entrance of the mine, hands clutching the reins of three horses: his own, Don Diego's, and Zorro's mount, Toronado. The dust had settled quickly enough, helped in part by the wind blowing from a favourable direction, but when they'd entered the tunnel, they'd found out that it ended after several yards, cut off by a wreck of smashed timber supports and fallen stones.

They didn't know what could have gone wrong. He, Don Alejandro, didn't know what could have gone wrong. All he knew was that his son and future daughter-in-law were somewhere behind the rubble. And he could only pray that they were still alive.

More stones crashed and clattered down. Dust swilled in the air, settling on the rescue party's faces. Their throats were parched with it; sweat rolled from their foreheads, making trails on their dusty skins. Sergeant Mendoza paused after removing another beam and started coughing hard, struggling to catch his breath.

It must have been his cough that prevented them from hearing the noise immediately. From somewhere deep within the tunnel came the rattle of rolling stones, and a voice cried out, "Help! Help!"

They redoubled their efforts, wrestling with more debris, more broken planks and beams. At last, the opening near the ceiling was large enough to fit a pair of hands, then shoulders, and then a whole man, bloodied and dressed in rags, who crawled through the rubble and fell into their arms.

They carried him out of the tunnel to the light and air of the valley, and only then did they realise who it was that had managed to escape the mine.

Luis Ramone, _alcalde_ of Los Angeles.

X X X

Ramone had no idea how he'd managed to survive. From the moment the cracked tunnel ceiling had given way and crashed down, separating him from Ortega but also plunging him into total darkness, he had been running, crawling and squeezing through cracks, driven only by his desire to get out of the mine. A weak breeze had been his only guide to the exit. It had felt like ages had passed before he'd heard the noise of stones being dislodged by the soldiers, and the sound of Sergeant Mendoza's coughing.

Now he was lying on the grass, looking at a few clouds sailing across the sky, so magnificently blue and clear. He breathed deeply, attempting to pull himself together enough to take over the command of the rescue operation. He couldn't let the soldiers, or Don Alejandro for that matter, reach the central excavation chamber before it was consumed by fire.

But he wasn't allowed the luxury of collecting his thoughts.

" _Alcalde! Alcalde!_ " Sergeant Mendoza tugged on his arm. "What happened in there, _alcalde_? Why the explosion?"

"Ortega… Ortega put explosives everywhere..." Ramone sat up and leaned his head on his hands. His ears were ringing even now. "Made a trap for Zorro..."

"Zorro was there, _alcalde_?" asked Mendoza. Before Ramone had gathered his thoughts enough to reply, Don Alejandro cut in.

"Who else is in the mine? Who got left behind?"

"Victoria… Ortega was buried under rocks... His men as well..." The _alcalde_ fervently wished that they would let him slump back onto the grass and sleep, rather than bother him with questions. "Victoria was buried... a wall came down..."

"And Zorro?" Mendoza blurted out.

"Him too... Fell down... He'd been fighting..."

Don Alejandro must have realised that Ramone was still dazed, because he nodded at Felipe. The boy had been standing to the side ever since they'd carried the _alcalde_ out of the tunnel. Now he rushed to them with a large bottle of water.

The cool water worked wonders on the _alcalde_. After a while, refreshed and much more confident, he got up, leaning on a helpful soldier's arm.

"The rescue operation is over!" he announced. "We're going back to Los Angeles!"

Everyone present looked at him in disbelief.

"What do you mean, it's over?"

Don Alejandro's question was immediately followed by the sergeant's protest, "But _alcalde_ …"

"The operation is over, I said. Don Alejandro, there was a fire. We have no chance of saving anyone, and I don't want the soldiers to risk their lives."

"What is the meaning of this? Why no chance?" As he asked the question, Don Alejandro leaned towards Ramone. So did the soldiers around them, anxiously waiting for his answer.

"No one down there is alive, Don Alejandro. I pray," Ramone quickly added, "that your son had not ventured into the mine with Zorro, although I fear..."

"Fear what, exactly!"

"Don Alejandro, please." The _alcalde_ raised his hand in an appeasing gesture. "Allow me to explain. Ortega had two men with him. They're both dead, killed by the explosion. Ortega himself died, too – the ceiling collapsed on him as I watched. Victoria... Señorita Escalante survived the blast, but when we were running from Ortega, she was crushed by the same beams that fell on the bandit. I tried to get her out, I really did," Ramone allowed a note of anguish to creep into his voice, "but she must have been killed on impact. I had to leave her body behind, since the fire was spreading so quickly. Before she died, she had claimed that Don Diego was in the mine, together with Zorro, but I never saw him. Perhaps she was mistaken," he added to placate Don Alejandro. "I didn't see him there and I don't think that Don Diego would've wanted to risk it, or that Zorro would've allowed it in the first place."

"What about Zorro, _alcalde_?" Mendoza interrupted.

"Zorro is dead. I shot him."

" _Alcalde_ …"

"What?!" Don Alejandro demanded.

Perhaps his experiences in the mine had made Luis Ramone a little more sensitive to what might follow, or perhaps the potential outcome was so obvious that even he was able to see it. Suffice it to say, he understood, then and there, that unless he came up with a good explanation immediately, Don Alejandro would kill him. That fat, clumsy fool Sergeant Mendoza, who had always obeyed his orders with such fearful compliance, would not lift a finger to save him. He would only tell the soldiers to dump his body in the mine, and then lie to everyone that he, Luis Ramone, had died when the tunnel had collapsed. And every single soldier from the patrol would support the fabrication.

It was too late to come up with a good lie. He had to tell the truth.

"I was forced to do it," he began hurriedly. "When the powder exploded, Zorro fell down a shaft to a lower level of the mine, and he was trapped under fallen timber. We couldn't reach him, it just wasn't possible, and the tunnel was filling with water. He couldn't get out, he was drowning... I had to shoot him, I really did," he finished, looking around the circle of stunned faces.

Don Alejandro stepped back and turned around.

"Don Alejandro!" Ramone called out. "I truly believe your son is safe somewhere outside the mine. As for Señorita Escalante and Zorro, the fire caused by the explosion should go out tomorrow, or the day after. The soldiers will try to retrieve their bodies then."

"So we will, Señor," Mendoza said quietly. "Poor Señor Zorro," he added. "Poor Señorita Escalante…"

The _alcalde_ wouldn't be himself if he'd allowed the soldiers to mourn the dead for too long, though.

"Sergeant!" he called. "Help me get on my horse. I want to see the doctor as soon as possible."

X X X

They rode off.

Don Alejandro stopped at the entrance of the tunnel. Somewhere beyond the rubble were the bodies of his son and daughter-in-law. He remembered Zorro's promise that they would return, and started crying. He bashed his fist against the stone, again and again.

A small, scraped hand touched his own.

"Felipe?"

The boy started to gesture.

"Victoria? What? The _alcalde_ lied? How do you...? My God, of course. He said it was a wall at first, and then he mentioned beams... So... What, a door? Oh, a second entrance! Zorro got in from the other side! Right, I should have guessed! And you know where..."

They galloped up the slope. When they reached the ridge, Don Alejandro pulled in the reins. The other side of the mountain seemed to be covered in bonfires. In some places, they could see puffs of smoke, in others – only wisps, all rising from little holes in the ground. Felipe moved towards one of those holes. When they came nearer, Don Alejandro saw that a rope had been tied to a nearby tree. The opening emitted warm air – very warm. The _alcalde_ had not been lying about the fire. But it was no matter. De la Vega reached for the rope, intending to climb down the shaft, and froze.

The rope was taut. He could feel it vibrate under his fingers.

He threw himself on the ground, trying to see who was down there.

The first thing he noticed was a white shirt. It approached the surface with agonising slowness. Then, for just a moment, Don Alejandro saw the blurry outline of a face, and he allowed himself to shout, "Victoria!"

Victoria made no answer, but it seemed to him that she redoubled her efforts to climb up. He could see her leaning against the walls of the shaft, grasping at the tiniest cracks in her determination to reach the top. The air current was getting hotter, and it carried a note of smoke. Just a little higher, just a tiny bit... only one beam... for a moment she couldn't find a handhold, and Don Alejandro's heart stopped beating as her searching fingers scratched at the rock.

And then she caught his hand. One tug and she was out. She fell on the grass, sobbing with exhaustion and gasping for air.

He knelt by her side.

"Shh, rest easy, you're safe..."

He meant to soothe her, but at that moment Felipe pulled on his arm, pointing at the shaft.

Don Alejandro froze. Could it be...?

He rushed to the opening just in time to catch Zorro's hand. His son crawled out to the grass and fell down. After a moment, he turned to embrace Victoria, and then they lay together, locked in each other's arms and looking at the sky.

Don Alejandro sat at their side. Like them, and like Felipe too, he was crying.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	5. EPILOGUE

EPILOGUE

* * *

Don Alejandro paused at the entrance of the patio. Diego and Victoria were both here, comfortably seated in two armchairs. Felipe had brought them juice and a light snack, and left both within easy reach. Leaning against the food table was a cane for Diego. The young de la Vega found it quite difficult to move. His father had already seen the bruises while changing his bandages; they were black-and-blue and purple in colour, hedged by bloody discolouration, and they covered almost the entire body of his son. Doctor Hernandez's salve eased the pain a little, but it didn't make the healing process any faster.

At the moment, Diego was putting that same salve on Victoria's cheek, which was marred by an ugly, bluish-purple contusion. He did it so gently, with such tenderness, that the simple action of putting on salve became a caress. The intimacy caused the elder de la Vega to blush and feel guilty that he had to disturb them.

It was not the only thing Don Alejandro felt guilty about. On the first morning after their escape from the mine, he'd found Diego and Victoria asleep in bed together. True, each had been well-wrapped in a separate blanket, but it hadn't been the blankets that had stopped Don Alejandro from intervening. His son and future daughter-in-law had huddled together like frightened children, as if the other's touch had been the only thing to keep the nightmares at bay. It went beyond all bounds of propriety, of course, but he couldn't bring himself to reprimand them.

Even later, when they had risen, or at least tried to, each unconsciously kept trying to touch the other. Whether in conversation or resting at the patio, they would lock their hands, exchange smiles and looks, as if to reassure themselves again and again that they were still together, that they hadn't been parted. They only existed for each other, like two sole survivors of a tragedy – or like a newly married couple. But now their father had to break the bubble of serenity with which they had surrounded themselves. Or perhaps it was not their father; it was the world, the pueblo of Los Angeles, and... the _alcalde_.

Don Alejandro cleared his throat and smiled to see their startled expressions.

"I must tell you something," he began.

Diego and Victoria exchanged guilty looks and both blushed a little at the same time.

"No, not that," said the elder de la Vega. "Unfortunately, there's something else I need to speak to you about."

The young couple's faces became grim.

"The _alcalde_ ," Diego said glumly.

"That's right. From what Pablo tells me, the _alcalde_ doesn't seem to know yet that you two are alive. The question is, what shall we do about it?"

"I think..." Diego hesitated.

"Nothing, I think," said Victoria.

"What do you mean? Nothing? He..."

"Father, he wanted to save his own skin, first and foremost," Diego's voice was unimaginably weary. "We can't help the fact that he's such a coward. Besides... besides, he tried to save Victoria, after all."

"And what about Zorro?"

"Zorro…" Diego lowered his head at first, but then he looked up. Don Alejandro had never seen that look in his eyes before. "Zorro wants to kill him."

"It's that bad?"

"It is. He brought Vi into this whole mess, he hit her, left her alone in the mine, recalled the soldiers even though he knew she'd been well clear of the debris..."

"He also tried to shoot Zorro."

"That's another matter. I know he enjoyed it, Father, but also..." Diego clenched his fists and didn't relax until Victoria covered them with her hand. Don Alejandro remained silent. He knew his son's sense of justice directed him to consider every aspect, not just let himself be driven by personal antipathies, but he could also see the toll it was taking on Diego. "Ramone can't help thinking of himself above everyone else," Diego finally spoke. "And he did try to get Victoria out. It was only once Ortega showed up that he forgot about her and turned tail. After that, nothing else counted to him. Do you know," Diego raised his head and gave a crooked little smile, "do you know that he's afraid of the dark? That place must have been hell for him. And as for the shot... I was very lucky that the beam was only heavy, not stuck." He shook his head, as if the memory was linked to something he'd rather not talk about. "No, I cannot fault him for that. But... Zorro would like to... I'd like to kill him. And I don't think I'll be able to get rid of the impulse so easily. Only... I can't do it like this, in cold blood."

"I tried to kill him," Victoria interrupted. "Down there, in the mine. But... I wouldn't be able to do it now, either."

After a long pause, Don Alejandro exhaled.

"So?" he asked. "What do we do?"

"We'll ride to the pueblo," Victoria said. "I need to see how Antonia and the girls are doing. Maybe Ramone will hear we're still alive."

"Then we'll come back," Diego added. "Vi still needs care, she can't get back to her tavern straight away. And I... no one will expect of Diego to smash Ramone to pieces, anyway."

"What about Zorro? Officially, he's dead," Don Alejandro observed. "Don't you want to use this chance to..."

"I can't," Diego shook his head. "Sooner or later, Ramone will do something that will require Zorro's intervention. Sooner rather than later, actually, if he thinks he's rid of him."

"So?"

"If you think, Father, that I might go and have a little chat with him straight away," Diego smiled mirthlessly, "you're wrong. Zorro would kill Ramone if they met now, I've no doubt about that. Besides..." Diego's smile was more of a smirk now, and full of embarrassment. "I really couldn't get in Toronado's saddle at the moment. That is, perhaps I would if I had to, but I'd really rather not. To say nothing of climbing the _cuartel_ roof, or anything like that. No, Zorro will need to lie low for a while. Though I think I know how to inform the _alcalde_ what a poor shot he is."

X X X

Luis Ramone, _alcalde_ of Los Angeles, plopped down on a bench in the late, lamented Señorita Escalante's tavern. He ordered a light meal from Marisa, one of the serving girls, and waited.

He'd spent the best part of the last few days in his room at the _cuartel._ His bruises and contusions were not life-threatening, but they were certainly painful. Doctor Hernandez's salves did not help much; fortunately down pillows allowed him to lie in near-comfort. But between the unexpectedly chilly manner in which he was tended by Mendoza and Rojas, and the boredom of being alone, Ramone was fed up enough to risk a little hardship and relocate to the tavern for dinner. He was currently seated more or less comfortably behind a table, waiting for his meal and planning his next moves.

From what he remembered, Victoria Escalante had a brother who served in a royal lancer regiment. A soldier, especially a distinguished one, would most likely be reluctant to leave His Majesty's army in order to become a tavern keeper. He would consider it a degradation. Meaning that, when he got the news of his sister's tragic death, he would need to find someone to help him manage the inherited property. In all likelihood, it wouldn't take a lot of convincing for the young Escalante to hand over the running of the tavern to a trusted associate, in exchange for a cut of the profits, of course. And who better than the _alcalde_ to take on this role? Yes, this could very well work...

There was another issue, to be settled at a much later point in time. Ramone was nearly sure that the young de la Vega had been inside the caves, after all, what with that deaf-mute of his waiting with the horses at the entrance. Which meant that the corpse of Don Diego de la Vega lay crushed under piles of rock somewhere in the ruined El Niño Viejo. Mendoza had made his report in the morning. The mine had collapsed; the mountain side was criss-crossed with craters and ravines. There was no chance, no matter how remote, of getting the bodies out. Don Diego de la Vega, Señorita Escalante and Zorro would forever stay buried inside El Niño Viejo. With a sudden shiver of excitement Ramone realised that his days of having to scrimp, scrape and cajole were ending. Zorro was dead, after all. He would never interfere again.

So then, did de la Vega have any relatives in Spain? Presumably yes – the old _caballero_ families usually had kin and property in the Old Country. Then... with only a minimal effort, while Don Alejandro mourned his son, he should be able to convince or force him to sell the hacienda and go live with his extended family. The money he'd already collected, together with whatever he would earn from managing the tavern (or rather from overseeing its management), should be enough for him to make the purchase. Luis Ramone, Don Luis Ramone… Didn't it have a beautiful ring to it?

A thud brought the _alcalde_ out of his daydreams. Marisa had put the soup he'd ordered on the table with such force that drops of it splashed out of the bowl and splattered the sleeve of his frock coat.

"What are you..." Ramone began to protest, but then his voice caught in his throat.

On the other side of the table was Señorita Escalante, half of her face covered by a blue-black bruise. Her expression was a picture of fury.

"Se… Señor… Señorita Victoria…" stammered Ramone.

"Yes. Me."

Slap! The sound of a blow resonated through the main room of the tavern. Ramone swayed on his feet and steadied himself on the table.

"Victoria is not alone," he heard above him. He looked up just in time to see Don Diego standing next to Señorita Escalante, cane in hand.

Slap! Another blow to the face. This time from Don Diego.

"Now we are even," Don Diego announced.

"But... but... how?"

"Did you forget, _alcalde_ , that Zorro is not in the habit of using the main entrance?" Don Diego asked in a deceptively mild, conversational tone.

"Zorro…"

"I reached the shaft just after you'd run from the main chamber. I had a rope on me, and I was able to get to the bottom without much difficulty..."

"But Zorro…" said Ramone, bewildered.

"He was alive. Still is. You're a poor shot, _alcalde_ , even worse than I am." Don Diego did not smile as he said it. "Your bullet only grazed him. When he's recovered, I presume he'll want to pay you a visit. Or maybe he won't – from what he told me, you wouldn't enjoy the meeting very much."

"What did he say?"

"That it will go better for you if you don't do anything that would cause him to visit Los Angeles in the nearby future," Don Diego said in an icy voice. "For a few months at least. Because he's already talked to you about changing the rules of the game, and what he's promised then, he intends to keep. Be very careful, _alcalde_ – be very, very careful. You won't be arranging his funeral, perhaps, but he might still show up to yours."

Ramone closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Don Diego and Victoria Escalante were already leaving the tavern. He heard Sergeant Mendoza outside, greeting their appearance with a shout of joy and surprise. Then he heard them mention Doctor Hernandez, and realised that, apart from himself, all the inhabitants of the pueblo had already known that the young de la Vega and his fiancée had survived the fire.

He closed his eyes again. His beautiful daydreams had turned to dust. There would be no changes in Los Angeles. Everything would stay just as it was.

* * *

THE END


End file.
